Chapter 23: Midterm Exam (6)

Amidst the suffocating pressure tightening around me,

I forced myself to act calm as I stood before Bakal.

“Oh, have you finally decided to take this seriously?”

“Just wait. I’ll make it entertaining for you.”

I didn’t know the exact way to use the Fragment of Chaos.

All I knew was that it consumed vitality in exchange for magic power.

‘I have no idea how much it drains each time I use it, which is a problem.’

Unlike in a game where you could adjust numbers to use exactly what you wanted, fear got the better of me.

But I couldn’t back down.

If things stayed as they were, I’d die anyway.

‘I don’t care anymore.’

Gritting my teeth, I tightly clenched the Fragment of Chaos in my hand and resolved to use it.

Ssssss!

The Fragment of Chaos vibrated violently, trembling as if it might explode at any moment,

And I felt an energy being sucked out through my fingertips.

“Ugh…”

At the same time, a searing pain surged through my body as if my blood were boiling.

My heart pounded furiously.

The intense dizziness made me stumble for a moment, but soon…

The sudden surge of magic rising from my feet allowed me to endure.

“Khuk… Kugh…”

The density of the magic power grew so thick it felt like it was heating my body, wrapping around me and overwhelming me with an intense euphoria I’d never experienced before.

My body, like a sponge absorbing magic, devoured the power ravenously even as it reached its limits.

Like wild waves, the energy shattered and rebuilt my bones and muscles repeatedly, hammering them into strength.

“You’re bouncing around like a slime.”

“Shut… up…”

The Fragment of Chaos felt different from Brekteia’s Tear.

Both massively amplified magic power, but the magic welling up from the Fragment felt strange and foreign.

If Brekteia’s Tear was a pure and clear crystallization of magic,

The Fragment of Chaos felt chaotic and tainted, with impurities mixed in.

‘A dark blue color…’

The blackened magic was rough and uncontrollable, wild and violent.

But at the same time,

“It’s hard to believe you’re the same person as before.”

It was intense, concentrated power.

“Khaha! Impressive, but I wonder just how practical it will be.”

“You sure talk a lot for someone that big.”

“…Still so insolent to the end.”

Bakal’s eyes glinted with arrogance.

However, the vertically elongated pupils embedded within were undoubtedly those of a beast.

“I’ll make sure to toy with you in the most painful way possible.”

His voice resonated deeply, and simultaneously-

Whoosh!

A rough, massive fist tore through the air as it flew towards me.

Why is he so fast on top of everything else?’

His entire body rippled with muscles that seemed ready to explode at any moment.

Despite his massive build, he was remarkably agile.

Although I managed to dodge his attack, I couldn’t anticipate the shockwave that followed.

My body was lifted and thrown sideways, rolling along the ground.

Crash!

I plowed through several trees before finally coming to a stop after tumbling several times.

“Is that all you’ve got? How disappointing.”

He came charging at me again without giving me a moment to recover.

Unable to fully control the overwhelming mana coursing through me, I clumsily endured his punches.

‘My body isn’t keeping up as well as I thought.

My physical body, unable to adapt to the sudden surge in

mana, made precise control impossible.

The best I could do was pour out the rising mana to defend myself.

“Show me more!”

The fierce pressure of wind roaring in front of me was overwhelming enough to obscure my vision.

It was so powerful that it left craters in the ground and shattered trees into nothingness.

“Tch… What brute force…”

I instinctively raised my sword vertically to block the pressure, but the impact sent my body sliding back.

‘I can’t drag this out any longer. Time to go all out!’

The strain on my body from the mana overload was severe, to the point where I could feel every muscle screaming in agony.

If this kept up, self-destruction was inevitable.

I erupted in dark blue mana, engulfing my entire body.

I focused all the surging mana at the tip of my sword as if it was about to burst forth at any moment.

The process brought waves of excruciating pain as my veins threatened to rupture one by one.

Grit.

I bit down hard on my lip, enduring the pain.

“You’re at least more entertaining than that brat from earlier.”

“Shut it, you muscle-headed ape.”

“I do find your foul mouth a bit irritating, though.”

Normally, I would have relied on cunning tricks to exploit any gaps, provoking my opponent into losing composure.

But that wasn’t an option now.

‘I don’t have that luxury.

I was out of time and options.

Meanwhile, my opponent was brimming with confidence.

Both objectively and subjectively, the gap between us was enormous.

Expecting any kind of taunt to work in this situation was simply absurd.

Believing this was my best chance to attack while he remained somewhat complacent,

I immediately kicked off the ground and launched myself at him.

Bang!

After dodging the fist flying straight at me, I spun my body in a full rotation, attempting to slash horizontally.

‘If it keeps going like this…”

I thought I could succeed.

Having even used the Fragment of Chaos, I believed I could at least wound him once, that I could endure a little longer.

But.

Clang!

“Wh-what… Did you really think that someone who makes a living with their fists wouldn’t train their body? Foolish.”

The side of his torso, which I thought was defenseless, was far tougher than expected, and the blade infused with dark blue mana couldn’t even leave a scratch.

“What the hell, this shouldn’t be such a big gap!”

I had wagered my lifespan to draw out more mana.

Ian, the protagonist, had even unleashed his suicidal technique.

And yet.

His body remained unscathed, not a single scratch on him.

“That dragged on long enough. Time to finish you off.”

Failing my decisive strike, I was immediately struck by his fist.

“Urgh…”

A powerful blow caved in my solar plexus.

I barely managed to block his fist aiming for my solar plexus again,

But I staggered repeatedly under the overwhelming force.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Each time his fist clashed with my sword, a deafening explosion rang out like balloons popping.

The noise left my ears ringing, and I began to feel disoriented.

‘Did I… already use it all up….?’

The omnipotence that once surged through my body as mana flooded endlessly was gone without a trace, leaving only the vivid sensation of my breaking, crumbling body.

‘No, I have to hold on… just a little longer…’

Grinding my teeth against the excruciating pain, I desperately tried to stay focused.

But in the end, my exhausted body collapsed like a sandcastle, falling forward.

“Huh? Is this really him? He’s so weak, I can’t tell.”

He muttered, looking down at me with disdain as if I were an insect.

“Don’t worry. I’ll kill your friends first and send you to join them soon enough.”

The giant man stomped on my fallen body with his enormous foot as he passed by, as if I were nothing.

The place he was heading toward was where Ian, who had long since collapsed and lost consciousness, was lying.

“Rel…ief…”

I wanted to grab onto his pants and stop him from going, but unfortunately, my body no longer obeyed my will.

Step. Step.

Bakal slowly approached Ian.

Just before he reached Ian,

 Thud, thud!

Faint sounds of commotion could be heard beyond the mist.

“The saint, the princess… and even the inquisitor, along with those self-absorbed knights.”

He nodded as if amused and spoke to me.

“How curious. To think they’d pound on the doors like this to save you all.”

A space filled with thick, murky black mist.

According to what he had said earlier, this damned place wouldn’t open until someone died.

‘That means…”

The spellcaster or the target must die for it to disappear.

‘Ian has already lost consciousness and is lying in the corner, so the target must be me.’

This meant that either Bakal or I had to die for this space to vanish.

Heh, what a cruel joke. 

Even at the end, I’m forced to make this kind of choice.’

If Bakal killed Ian,

But if I were to die first, Ian might survive with the help of those outside.

It was merely a matter of who went first. 

Either way, there was no real loss in the choice.

‘Reach… please, just reach…’

Using my slightly movable left arm, I grabbed the dirt and pulled myself forward with all my strength, crawling toward the sword.

It wasn’t too far away; 

I believed I could reach it.

As soon as I grabbed it, if I stabbed it into my neck, I’d die quickly.

‘Ian must live.’

An extra like me dying wouldn’t have any significant impact on this world.

But he was the protagonist.

An existence different from the very beginning.

If Ian were to die here, it would be the same as every living being in this world dying alongside him.

Even if this was a fictional world within a novel, there were people here who lived with consciousness and acted of their own will.

They dreamed of the future, enjoyed the present, and gave their best to the flow of their everyday lives.

If saving such people meant sacrificing an extra like me, I was more than willing to offer my life.

“Haah…”

A dry chuckle escaped my lips.

I never thought it would end so pathetically.

To think I’d be crawling on the ground in such a pitiful state, trying to stab myself in the neck with a sword.

I didn’t aspire to some grand future, but…

I never thought I’d die so lonely like this…. 

Well, I suppose it’s all meaningless now.

I made my choice.

No regrets.

‘Just a little more…

My nails were breaking and flipping backward.

Gravel embedded itself in the torn flesh.

‘Almost there. Just the sword… the sword…’

I managed to reach the place where I had dropped the sword. 

Now, all I had to do was bring the blade to my neck.

Yes, that would be the end of everything.

This hollow conclusion.

This worthless life.

Looking back, it was all full of regrets.

If only I hadn’t been consumed by the original story. 

If only I had used the EXP more proactively.

Would the outcome have been different?

“Heh, pathetic…idiot…”

The more I hesitated, the more I felt like I was just tormenting myself.

I grabbed the blade and tried to shove it into my neck.

‘Ah…no…d…’

But God-or rather, this damned author-seemed intent on preventing me from achieving the ending I wanted.

At the last moment, my tenuous grip on consciousness slipped away.

All because I hesitated for a brief moment.

***

“I’ll kill these little brats one by one and take the saintess’s skull as a trophy. He’ll be pleased with that, I’m sure.”

Bakal, a lieutenant of the Abyss.

He was in a good mood.

Not only could he complete his mission, but he had also been given an opportunity to earn extra merit.

To be honest, he had no interest in playing house at an academy filled with imperial brats and had intended to leave it to someone else.

However, there wasn’t a suitable replacement, and he was forced to take on the mission.

“Annoying as it was, it’s a perfect chance to see something interesting and have a little outing for a change of pace.”

In front of him were two inexperienced brats.

Even so, their potential seemed limitless.

‘Especially the second brat-there was something different about that one.’

Part of him wanted to let them live, but the mission was the mission.

There was a certain satisfaction in trampling and breaking budding talent to add to his collection.

Still, personal feelings had no place in official matters.

As he moved forward to finish off the brat radiating pure white mana, as planned-

Тар.

“… What’s this?”

A chilling sensation ran down his back, stopping him in his tracks.

“Well, well, you see something new every day.”

Even someone like him, who was on the verge of reaching the eighth rank, found himself hesitating to look back.

The source of this oppressive and intimidating aura was none other than-

“I thought it was all over… but I guess not?”

The brat who had self-destructed, consumed by his dark blue mana.